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Eggless Chocolate Cake is a rich & moist chocolate cake made entirely without eggs or dairy! The silky chocolate fudge frosting is intensely chocolatey and compliments the tender cake perfectly.
Who knew a rich & moist chocolate cake could be made without eggs, milk, sour cream, or mayonnaise?! The cake is fluffy & moist, and easy to make. It’s similar to a Depression-era cake called a “wacky cake” – a cake made with no eggs or dairy, due to cost or scarcity. Oil & hot water keep the cake moist instead!
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Use the table of contents (back at the top, below the first image, to navigate).
- Black Cocoa Powder – Black cocoa adds a deeper, more intense chocolate flavor! I also use it in my Black Velvet Cake.
- Hot Water – Hot water blooms the cocoa powder and provides moisture.
- Oil – Use vegetable oil or any other neutral oil.
- All-purpose flour – Spoon your flour into the measuring cup, then level it with a flat utensil for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly into your flour will lead to too much flour, and a potentially dry bake.
- Corn Syrup – Corn syrup makes the frosting extra shiny, silky, and easy to spread. If you prefer not to use it, make my Classic Chocolate Frosting instead.
Recipe Substitutions & Variations:
- Dairy-free/Vegan – The cake is already dairy-free & vegan! For the frosting, use dairy-free butter sticks and dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate.
How to Make Eggless Chocolate Cake:
Step 1: Bloom the Cocoa Powder. This is a fancy phrase that simply means add cocoa to hot water to activate the flavor! Then, we’ll whisk in the oil and vanilla.
Step 2: Whisk Dry Ingredients & Combine Everything. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Pour in the wet ingredients and gently stir until combined – a few lumps is fine!
Step 3: Bake. Divide batter between each 8-inch cake pan and bake for 20 minutes. Let cakes cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.
Step 4: Make the Frosting. In a medium bowl, melt together warm water, semi-sweet chocolate, and corn syrup. In a large bowl, beat together butter, powdered sugar, milk, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt.
Beat in the melted chocolate mixture – it will look odd at first but will smooth out in 1-2 minutes.
Step 5: Assemble. Frost the cooled cake layers, allowing 10 minutes in the fridge between each layer so the frosting stabilizes on the cake.
Serving + Storing:
Once the cake is frosted, slice and enjoy! This cake doesn’t stay moist in the fridge quite as long as my Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake, which has eggs & buttermilk, but it will be moist and yummy for up to 3 days. Store in an airtight container, with plastic wrap pressed over the cut portion to help seal in moisture.
Expert Baking Tips:
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
Can I make this recipe into cupcakes?
Yes! You can make this cake recipe into cupcakes.
Can I freeze this cake?
Yes, you can freeze the whole cake. Chill it in the fridge so the frosting is firm, then wrap well in multiple layers of plastic wrap and then foil. Place in an airtight container or freezer bag if possible, and freeze for 1-2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
Freeze individual slices by wrapping in parchment paper and sealing inside freezer bags or containers. Freeze 3-6 weeks. Thaw on the counter for 1-2 hours.
More Chocolate Cakes to Love:
- Raspberry Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Truffle Cake
- Ultimate Nutella Cake
- Mini Chocolate Cake
- Single-Layer Baileys Chocolate Cake
Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment & star rating!
Click the little stars in the header of the recipe card below to leave a comment & star rating, letting me know how you liked the recipe. I take all feedback seriously, & leaving a rating helps my small business immensely!
Eggless Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 cups hot water, 480 grams
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 49 grams
- 1 cup vegetable oil, 218 grams
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled or weighed out , 390 grams
- 1 cup granulated sugar , 210 grams
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed, 220 grams
- 1 and 3/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
For the Frosting:
- 12.75 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped or broken up, 360 g
- 1/2 cup corn syrup, 330 g
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 1 and 1/4 cups salted butter, softened at room temperature , 283 grams
- 4 cups to 5 cups powdered sugar, 460 to 575 grams
- 1-2 tbsp milk or water, as needed , to help things come together – if you use water, this cake and frosting will be safe to keep at room temperature if that's a concern for you! 15-30 grams
- 1 and 1/2 cups cocoa powder, 140 grams
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Prep: Prep: Preheat your oven to 350° F. Prepare three 8-inch cake pans. Use a paper towel to rub shortening all over the inside of each pan, coating them evenly and completely. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit in the bottom (it doesn't have to be perfect or cover the bottom completely). Place this on top of the greased pan bottom, then grease over the parchment paper as well. Add a handful of flour, and tap the pan around to evenly coat the entire inside with flour, tapping out the excess.
- Make the Cake Batter: In a 4-cup glass measuring cup or in a medium bowl, add the two cups of hot water (I microwave it for 30-45 seconds, until it's steaming). Whisk in the cocoa powder, then set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients, making sure the brown sugar chunks are broken up. Return to the wet ingredients and whisk the oil and vanilla into the measuring cup of hot water and cocoa. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir gently until everything is combined and no streaks of flour remain. The batter may have a few small lumps throughout – that's fine – don't try to break them all up!2 cups hot water, 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 cup vegetable oil, 1 tbsp vanilla extract , 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled or weighed out , 1 cup granulated sugar , 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed, 1 and 3/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp baking soda, 3/4 tsp salt
- Bake: Divide the batter evenly between your three prepared pans (you'll have about 520 grams of batter per pan). Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate each pan 180 degrees and bake another 10 to 12 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center will pull out moist crumbs when the cakes are done. Let cakes cool in the pans, placed on cooling racks, for 8 minutes. Then, run a butter knife around the edge to loosen the cakes and invert onto the cooling racks. Let cool completely while you make the frosting.
- Make the Frosting: In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt together the semi-sweet chocolate, corn syrup, and water in 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval until completely melted. Set aside to cool to room temperature (you can speed this up in the fridge). In a large bowl, beat the butter on high speed with an electric mixer until creamed, about 1 minute. Beat in the powdered sugar in two additions, using milk as needed to help it come together. Beat in the cocoa powder on low, making sure it's well mixed in. Beat in the room temperature chocolate mixture – it will look a little curdled and weird at first, but it will smooth out to silky perfection after 1-2 minutes of mixing! Beat in the vanilla and salt last.12.75 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped or broken up, 1/2 cup corn syrup, 1/2 cup hot water, 1 and 1/4 cups salted butter, softened at room temperature , 4 cups to 5 cups powdered sugar, 1-2 tbsp milk or water, as needed , 1 and 1/2 cups cocoa powder, 1 tbsp vanilla extract , 1/8 tsp salt
- Assemble the Cake: Place one cooled cake layer on your cake plate, and place this on a cake turntable (for ease, no need to run out and buy one). Add 1 and 1/3 cups of frosting and spread it in an even layer. Chill for 5 minutes in the fridge so it doesn't all smoosh out when you add the next layer. Add the next cake layer, and use an offset spatula to seal the two layers together by spreading any frosting peeking out between the layers. Chill for 10-15 minutes, then repeat this. By the time the final layer is on, you'll have a thin crumb coat of frosting around the side of the cake. Let this chill for 15 minutes or so before finishing frosting the top and sides of the cake, swirling the frosting in a rustic manner.
- Serve & Store: Top with sprinkles if desired, then slice and enjoy! Store leftover cake in the fridge in an airtight container, with plastic wrap pressed over the cut portion to keep it moist. This cake keeps well for 2-4 days in the fridge (not as long as a cake that has eggs/dairy, but it still holds up pretty well!).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I use vegan butter for the frosting? And would this recipe work as cupcakes?
Hi Sierra! Yes to both! Just be sure not to fill the cupcake liners to full – about 2/3 full should prevent them from spilling over during the bake. Let me know how you like the recipe!
Hi, I’m a bit confused on the measurements of stuff because on the recipe you have 1x, 2x and 3x does this refer to the amount of layers for the cake or does this refer to the number of cakes I’m making? Also can I add a 65% chocolate to the cake batter to make the cake fudgier, I tried a small version of the cake adjusting ingredients accordingly but it turned out quite cakey rather than fudgy (maybe I didn’t adjust correctly)
Hi Trushil! The 1x, 2x, and 3x will scale the recipe up by that amount. So, 1x the recipe is just the recipe as you see it. 2x would double the entire recipe, and 3x would triple the entire recipe. So if you do 2x the recipe, you’d get 6 cake layers, or 2 cakes worth. 3x would triple the recipe, giving you 9 cake layers, or 3 cakes. This feature isn’t necessarily as useful with a layer cake, but comes in handy on many other recipes, like cookies or muffins, where you may realistically want to double a batch of 16 cookies to get 32, and so on. I recommend sticking to the recipe as written for the best results – I’m unfortunately not able to test every possible variation of every recipe I publish, so the way I have published the recipe is the way that will give the best result. Let me know how you like the recipe!
Hi , good morning , I just made this cake yesterday, the cake was soft , and followed the measurements exctly , but the cake dint rise at all .! It was way too flat .!
Hi Sonu! I’m sorry to hear that. Do you know how old your baking soda is? It does expire after awhile and will no longer work to make cakes, etc. rise. Happy to help troubleshoot further!
Absolutely Delicious!!!
Thanks so much, LaShea!